--- title: Burgers and Cheeseburgers Are Healthy, Most Americans Think description: People think burgers are healthy. Here's how to make them healthier. canonical: https://time.com/4345052/burgers-healthy-red-meat/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-23T17:24:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-06T09:18:01.663Z article:section: Health og:title: Most Americans Think Burgers Are Healthy og:description: People think burgers are healthy. Here's how to make them healthier. og:url: https://time.com/4345052/burgers-healthy-red-meat/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9248ac6f388a9ed0/69889469ab6d77b0886a9cde/burgers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5616 og:image:height: 3159 og:image:alt: Double cheeseburger with egg, bacon & french fries og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Most Americans Think Burgers Are Healthy twitter:description: People think burgers are healthy. Here's how to make them healthier. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9248ac6f388a9ed0/69889469ab6d77b0886a9cde/burgers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Most Americans Think Burgers Are Healthy > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=f5a9bd78-5c55-4285-bbe4-cf27b355e23c&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Should I Eat Burgers? [Watch (HLS stream): Should I Eat Burgers?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/G7EXHLsP.m3u8) (2:02)  _Published 2015-07-08. It may be stating the obvious, but burgers, as we know them, are not a health food, according to most of our experts. Here's why 3 out of 5 experts gave burgers the thumbs down._ by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin May 23, 2016 5:24 PM UTC by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin May 23, 2016 5:24 PM UTC A [new survey](http://www.mintel.com/press-centre/food-and-drink/four-in-five-americans-agree-burgers-are-a-good-source-of-nutrients) reveals that 82% of Americans who eat hamburgers think that the sandwich is a good source of nutrients. Researchers with the market research group Mintel polled 1,767 Americans who had ordered a burger from a restaurant in the last three months. 62% of the people said they love burgers—and the numbers were strong even among Millennials, the generation most likely to say that menu healthiness is important to them when they choose a restaurant. Americans’ obsession with burgers isn’t surprising, but the sandwich’s perceived healthiness is, given the fact that the World Health Organization (WHO) [recently announced](http://time.com/4086858/who-meat-cancer/) that processed meat is a carcinogen and red meat likely causes cancer. While burgers are good sources of protein, iron and vitamin B12, they come with a lot of problems, [according to nutrition experts](http://time.com/3947163/burgers-red-meat/)—particularly the fatty meat, sugary ketchup and refined grain buns. The new survey did find that even burger lovers know they could choose a healthier sandwich. People want more chicken and turkey burgers, the survey found, which are considered healthier options. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] It might be stating the obvious, but burgers, as we know them, just aren't a health food, according to most of our experts. Here's why three out of five of them give burgers the thumbs down. [ MUSIC ] But there might be some wiggle room there. Depending on what's in your patty. Fatty beef from dubiously- fed cattle, slathered in sugary ketchup and placed between two halves of a refined flour bun? No, thanks, says David Katz. Same for any beef burger not made with 90 to 95 % lean ground beef, says Julia Zumpano. Kristi King, however, gives a thumbs up to burgers in moderation and in proper portion sizes. Burgers are high in protein, vitamin B12, and iron, she says. Moderation, of course, is the key word. Eating beef burgers regularly isn't a good idea for a few reasons, says Erica Frank. Beef burgers are loaded with saturated fat, she points out. An ungarnished fast food cheeseburger has 29 % of your daily FDA recommended limit. Certain burgers can come with a large side of environmental issues. Beef just isn't the most sustainable meat to produce. Raising a cow takes a huge amount of water, and livestock production is a large contributor to climate change, Frank says In fact, raising and producing livestock is responsible for 18 % of global greenhouse gas emissions worldwide according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Local demand for meat is increasing nearly two percent a year, says Rebecca Shaw. One way to make burgers better for the earth is to change the way we grow corn, a primary source of cow feeds, she said. [ MUSIC ] choosing grass fed, instead of corn fed beef is one way to earn burgers a slightly higher rating in Katz's opinion. But when it comes to his wife's special burgers, made from lean, free range ground turkey and lentils, Katz gives a definite yes. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4345052/burgers-healthy-red-meat/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4345052/burgers-healthy-red-meat/"},"headline":"Most Americans Think Burgers Are Healthy","datePublished":"2016-05-23T17:24:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-06T09:18:01.663Z","description":"Health experts may disagree","url":"https://time.com/4345052/burgers-healthy-red-meat/","keywords":["Diet & Nutrition","burgers","red meat"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9248ac6f388a9ed0/69889469ab6d77b0886a9cde/burgers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9248ac6f388a9ed0/69889469ab6d77b0886a9cde/burgers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Double cheeseburger with egg, bacon & french fries","caption":"Double cheeseburger with egg, bacon & french fries","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/dietnutrition/","name":"Diet & Nutrition"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4345052/burgers-healthy-red-meat/","name":"Most Americans Think Burgers Are Healthy"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Should I Eat Burgers?","description":"It may be stating the obvious, but burgers, as we know them, are not a health food, according to most of our experts. 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